Workington Man Handed 89 Pence Compensation Order

A Workington man has been handed an 89 pence compensation order after stealing kitchen foil from a local discount store.

Thomas Edward Morton, 42, of no fixed abode, admitted charges of theft and possession of a controlled drug when he recently appeared at West Cumbria Magistrates' Court in Workington.

Magistrates heard that Morton stole a roll of kitchen foil from the town's Home Bargains store on 2nd December 2019.

A subsequent search of Morton's person uncovered a small amount of the class A drug heroin (diamorphine), which gives rise to the possibility that the foil was taken to facilitate his drug use.

Reports of the case do not give much information, but the Bench was clearly satisfied that the circumstances justified a pragmatic approach to sentencing.

Morton was given a 12 month conditional discharge for the drugs matter and ordered to pay 89 pence compensation to Home Bargains to cover the theft.

A forfeiture and destruction order was made for the heroin.

This case reminds me of another I am familiar with, where a homeless man walked into a discount food store and walked out with a 50 pence tin of corned beef.

A short time later, him having now consumed the corned beef, he was challenged by staff and admitted stealing the item because he was cold, hungry and wanted something to eat. In line with company policy, the store manager called the police and the man was arrested and duly charged with theft.

The man, who was lightly convicted, appeared before Magistrates charged with stealing the corned beef and the prosecutor read his full and frank admissions to the theft.

The Magistrates in that case had no difficulty believing that the man had fallen on hard times and had stolen to eat. In the circumstances, faced with a defendant with no means at all, the Bench decided that the right thing to do was to make him pay 50 pence for the corned beef he had eaten.

Of course the question arises: quite how does 50 pence theft end up costing thousands in police, CPS and court time and resources in the first place?